Once you go bald it’s a like a big circle is around your head and everyone knows you’ve got cancer. You get double takes at you, stares and the obvious assumption that you’ve got cancer. There goes a bald woman, she must have cancer. Don’t feel bad, because I do it too. I’ve had strangers walk up to me in stores, restaurants, bars, just to tell me to keep fighting. On a couple occasions I’ve had women walk up to me and casually ask, “are you a warrior?” My response of, “I am!” is usually followed by them telling me they’re a survivor of (“x”) years. It’s like a secret handshake for a club you really don’t want to be apart of. A couple weeks ago Brian and I went to dinner at our favorite, Wilmot Stage Stop. Seriously, take the drive and treat yourself to steak and lobster and end with a chocotini! As we were paying our check a group walked in and sat at the bar to wait for their table. The woman was wearing a scarf/head piece. Like the ones I wear. I’m certain she is a warrior. We gathered our things and instead of walking out the door, I just had to walk over to her. It was a feeling inside of me that I couldn’t shake unless I acknowledged her for what she was, a warrior. I walked up to her and asked, “are you a warrior?” Definitely caught her off guard, but she looked at me and simply replied, “I think so?” Her friend that was sitting with her seemed confused, so I shared that I am a breast cancer survivor. The warrior immediately took off her head piece and told me she just finished chemo last month and was starting radiation the following week. It was the first time I’ve ever been able to acknowledge someone in person, a stranger, yet not really a stranger. It was emotional, for me and even for my husband as a bystander. He reminded me again how proud he was of me and how strong I am. Paying It Forward.

We left the restaurant feeling great, so of course we made a pit stop to The Wilmot Riverside Bar & Grill. Ended up meeting an old high school friend of Brian’s and his wife. Perfect ending to the night.

A couple weeks ago a woman reached out to me via Facebook to ask questions about my diagnosis and my doctors. Turns out she found my blog on a breast cancer support group on Facebook. Her journey was similar to mine. She thought she was going to have surgery her story would be over, but here she is now, getting ready for chemo. Fast forward and last week we met for coffee. She had just had her first chemo treatment and I’m so happy to say she is feeling great still. I tried answering any questions she had about what to expect, how did I really feel, etc. It feels amazing to know that my words and my willingness to be public has been helpful and appreciated by so many. I gladly passed along my collection of hats and scarfs and bangs and also introduced her to Bringing Joy, which is sending her a care package to let her know she’s not alone in this journey. Paying It Forward.

When I started this shit show journey I had no idea what to expect, what would happen or where I would end up. Starting this blog was an outlet for me to get out my thoughts and document my experiences. Honestly, it started out just for me. I opened a Word Doc and just started writing. In a way it was therapeutic, I could say what I wanted and no one could judge. It was a handful of entries that was to end after my surgery. Obviously surgery was not the end, it was almost like the beginning. So many people reached out for updates that it was then I decided I should somehow share my updates publicly. I didn’t want to be that annoying person that constantly posts health updates, that’s just not me. Plus, there are some people that really could care less about my journey because they may have their own journey that they’re battling. I have some experience with managing websites, so I figured this would be the best solution. Fast forward to ringing the Bell. It was December 1, 2022. After that post I assumed this blog would fizzle out. Maybe not for me, because I’m still documenting how I’m feeling and what’s next. I assumed my blog would fizzle out for those reading. Something like, “Katie rang the bell, I’m so happy for her! I wonder what’s on Netflix?” That’s not what happened. Well, let me clarify, that’s not what happened for some. As I’m approaching the end of this journey (surgery May 22), I’ve had a few people reach out and suggest turning my blog into a book. I’ve actually thought about that, but my thought was printing it out into a book for my personal shelf. Those that have reached out suggested otherwise, to make this book available for others, turn it into a guided journal for others that also want to document their experiences. I mean, I hope noone reading this would need this guided journal, but then again, I never thought I’d need it either. So here I am, thinking about structuring this blog into a proper self guided journal. Curious what your thoughts are, as most of you have been with me from the beginning. Paying It Forward.